Reading the Daniel Plan

Pastor Rick Warren has written a book called the Daniel plan. It is loosely based on a story from Daniel 1:8-16 that you can read here.

8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself. 9 God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official, 10 yet he said to Daniel, “My lord the king assigned your food and drink. I'm afraid of what would happen if he saw your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age. You would endanger my life with the king.” 11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king's food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” 14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. 15 At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king's food. 16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables. HCSB

Mr. Warren baptizing a huge number people realized there his congregation was fat. Not only were they overweight but he was too. The following week he confesses his sin of over eating for 30 years and decided he wanted to make a change. He asked his congregation if they like to join him in making changes for their help. He consultants fitness experts and shared a study what the Bible says about health. I bought the book about ago and I'm now getting around to read it. I will share my review when I'm done. Right off the bat I think it's a good idea to develop a theology of the body. In the same way I think it's a good idea to get a science of the body. When it comes to health there are a lot of information out there and people were willing to scam for many gimmicks. So far what I have read of the Daniel plan it is a good study. 

Since the book was written, Mr. Warren has had his own setbacks. His son committed suicide and in his grief, he regained his weight back. He has gotten back on track since then. That is one thing I've noticed in changing health lifestyles. Life happens and with its heart aches those in recovery, will often revert back to their past behaviors. When you look at people who have lost weight; they often gain it back. Health is not a short-term proposition; health is lifelong no matter what the challenges.

Pastor Warren and his people have developed a good website to encourage people in our health. I think you can check it out in making lifestyle changes that can help your health.

In my own recovery from injuries last year I have rebooted my walking program. It seems like every day I'm making progress. In this last year I am developed different body exercises that with the use resistance bands, suspension training and body weight exercises that I think made a difference. 

It is really easy for me to be sedimentary but in the last year there is been a lot written to support people to move throughout the day. In the Daniel plan if you have a job or sit around too much at home, one idea I looked at today was to use your smart phone to set alarm once an hour to do two-minute bursts of different movements. Along with a walk every day and the work out that adds up to about 150 minutes a week you can really improve your health.

Using the things of life like chores, cooking, yard work, doing the dishes, laundry, walking up-and-down stairs throughout the day can be a lifesaver.

Deciding and acting on health information can turn into successful living. I think it's just as easy to not act on things and continue where our bad habits get the better of us. Guilt doesn't really help long-term change. Speaking of which it is time for me to take a walk. Keep walking

Merry Christmas, let's walk with Mary

Click on map to enlarge to help see the distance

This fall I took a look at the Christmas story. Here I am concerned with two trips that are made from Nazareth into the suburbs of Jerusalem. You are familiar with the story of Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem about 7 miles south of Jerusalem. The map I showed you comes from Bible mapper and it marks the roads of the first century. Geography determines where the roads are much like Appalachian Mountains or the Rockies. The trail I mapped out roughly is 80 to 90 miles. There are shorter trails by higher elevations that were more rugged and they moved through territory Jews avoided, see John 4. 

The journey would take 3 to 4 days. 

The trip that nobody seems to notice is the trip that Mary took right after she talked to the angel. Here she walked from Nazareth to the hill country of Judah. Where is this location? The Bible doesn't tell us exactly where Elizabeth and Zacharias lived. Our best guess is a place called Kerem about 5 miles west of Jerusalem. What we do know is they lived in the hill country of Judea and Kareem is in the hill country of Judea. We are not sure that is the location until we get to heaven but it gives us an idea what it was like. The location doesn't really change the story.

Luke 1:23, 26; 39; 56; 2:4 give us the references of travel. When Mary walked to see

Kerem, traditional location of John the Baptist
birthplace

Elizabeth she apparently walked alone. That tells me how important this was too her. You don’t walk 50 to 90 miles on a whim. She was assertive and strong. Here we find that she hurried and at the stage she could do an aerobic walk. When she walks with Joseph I believe her pace is a little slower. Taking a 90 mile walk at the end of your pregnancy would indicate how strong women are. Note her conversation with Jesus in John 2. Jesus let her know His purpose was to do the will of God; but He still did what she wanted Him to do. I won’t take time now but she did these long walks all of her life. She walked with her son in her middle to late 40’s. Her fitness would help her live long enough to be a witness for Luke’s writing 25+ years later.

The Christmas story took 3 years counting the pregnancies of Elizabeth and Mary to the journey to Egypt with toddler in hands. We put it all together in a play and give the impression of one silent night but there is time between the events of the Christmas story. Read carefully the story from the Bible. There is no Mary riding a donkey, an innkeeper, a cave. The donkey if they had one I believe would've carried bedding and shelter which could've been very simple. Relatives would have put you up in their home, roof, or where they kept their animals. Many villages had an outdoor location for animals and guests to stay. The manger was an animal trough and it could fit such a location. Could it have been in a cave? There was a cave nearby. Think of their journey for the three or four days. These people did this trip for the religious festivals in Jerusalem. Families would have made temporary travel as comfortable as they could. Depending on their resources they may had to do this with only the cover of their outer robes. 

For me looking at this story they have a lot in common with pioneers. Jesus's parents would have taught him how to live outdoors. This couple was capable of a long trip to Egypt. Now you can see the skills that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had. Jesus would have had them too.

This Christmas take a moment to remember that Joseph and Mary were walkers. They being walkers would have shared that skill with Jesus whom it is estimated walked a quarter of a million miles. Keep walking and Merry Christmas from the fat man.

Sources, bible.org https://lumina.bible.org/bible/Luke+2 and Bible Gateway https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/ivp-nt/Luke have notes and commentary that you can look up concerning length of trip. IVC argues my position and Thomas Constable presents another route. http://biblemapper.com/gallery1.htm http://www.biblewalks.com/sites/EinKarem.html

The fat did spin biking

Yesterday I was reading an article about a young woman who was doing spin classes in her home. The classes go for three months. She would miss the benefits of the social contact of the class but since she doesn't quite fit the profile of who you actually see in classes, she may be more comfortable. Spinning uses indoor bikes to beat of music to change speed intervals as the class bikes for my half hour to an hour.

Lately I have added online learning to my activities. It is another good way to use the computer and in retirement a great way to take classes. I use an indoor exercise bike so I thought why not apply a spin class to my use of it. It would make the exercise more aerobic and more interactive with the music and people in the video. So I checked on my browser online videos and check out one website that I thought had good programs.

It did not take long to see that these spin programs are challenging. My own conditioning is not on par with the participants. The type of bike I use is not the same. So it's time to modify. I found the music helpful as well as interval training. They would speed up I would speed up, they would recover I would recover. Recovering is this just a little bit slower speed. My pace was a little slower but to me I was working up a sweat. I biked for about 25 minutes. While I was biking I was practicing exhaling and resisting taking shorter breaths. This is a way runner breathes. I'm going to try to do it every other day give my body a chance to recover. I think it's a good way to do an aerobic activity similar to running only without the falls. Next time I'm going to check out spinning for older adults.

I have been encouraged my heart doctor to pursue better fitness. One of the things that you have to do is monitor yourself and stay within a safety zone.

There're many ways to walk with the fat Man. You can walk, swim, bike, spin, jog. Doing different things works your body different and give you the benefit aerobic activity that's good for your heart, blood sugar, and immune system. Besides a better living it helps as fight heart disease, Diabetes, and cancer. Keeps walking

Old wires need replacing, make new ones

Today looking at my blog I came across one of the blogs I follow written by Wayne Stiles. Wayne has a passion to bring in a layer in Bible study connected to the land of the Bible. To see the places were the events took place adds a dimension to our study of the Bible. There is a lot of work goes in to reading the Bible for profit. We have Bibles that are translated into modern English or other languages so that weekend read God's thoughts in the language that our mind works. 

Wayne brought to my attention a link from classes I could take from the Internet from Dallas theological seminary. Now I know that walking an exercise are the best thing to keep our brains growing but to take on the challenge to keep learning and building new wires as the old one sort of fadeaway is a good thing to do when we get older.

Follow link for more information, http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=463e57a6fcf34555adb711b92&id=d6497a5023&e=3d6339e09e

As we get older we have so many pathways and we can keep track of them anymore so it is always a good idea to build new ones. That's are saying better then as we get older we lose our marbles. In retirement we can set new goals and activities. There really are a lot of opportunities that we can getting involved and make our life more interesting.

Went for walk this morning and then I checked out a couple of those classes. Around noon I went ahead and do the strength workout using my countertop, bands and resistance training program. Now I'm waiting for Barbara get home but I feel real good. There is just something about exercise or a good walk that pays dividends throughout the day.

Read a couple articles from the newspaper they got my juices going. It would be so easy to rant and rave right now. But I decided to write something positive instead. Keep walking

Making 12 days of Christmas work

The season is upon us. One of the things that has happened to Barb and I is our loved ones have their plans for the holidays too. Not everything can fit on the 25th. There are years when they can. 

In my sixties, I can change and be flexible. One thing I can do is destress the holidays. There are things I can control and things I can’t. One thing I can do is make plans to fit everybody's needs. Can’t make Christmas work, hey we have 12 to 3O days of Christmas to work it out. Celebrating on many days can be fun. 

Delegate the meal or meals. 

Enjoy putting the meal together.

Let the guys put the meal together and clean-up. Men love to grill and grilling in the winter is possible.

Order out

Plan a simple but unique meal.

Try an international recipe.

Kids can’t make it home, aw too bad. Plan a Christmas date. 

Practice 12 days of good sleep. Embrace each night. 

Put Christ into the season with music and listening the Christmas story. Bible Gateway has several audio bibles you can plug into. 

Along these lines, listen to audio book, nice break from the TV. Listen to radio shows.

Invite friends and those who would enjoy being with you. 

Simplify gift giving, give wanted gifts but narrow the selection. Share more how each friend and family member is a gift. 

Take the holidays as they come and fit it those who may be hurting. 

On a personal note, I am thankful for all the progress I have made overcoming depression, post traumatic stress and anxiety. I am as close to saying I feel healed as I can. I take my medications but they are being reduced. Having confidence to take on a panic attack if it arrises or face loss and depression is part of the recovery. I have felt very good for over two years now. 

It would not be the fat man walking if I can’t include walking.

"Sh*t happens"

One thing we have today is health. What ever we did yesterday is gone. Tomorrow hasn’t happen yet. Jesus said, in Matt. 6:34 “Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” So today we have to deal with the trouble of the day.

"Life happens, while you're busy making other plans.” John Lennon

Forest Gump apparently started many legendary trends. The movie credited him with the phrase “sh*t happens” 

Life that happiness is what we got to get onto. I am looking at a winter day coming to a close on a winter day. My cactus plant is sharing it’s winter flowers. Today the sky is clear. These are all good things just here to be noticed. Got up and got a cup coffee while I was waiting for the microwave I did push-ups, Dips and squats, and heal raises. I notice my breathing got a little deeper. My coffee tastes good. These are just observing moments in the present. But being aware of them my body is relaxed and mellow.

What do I have planned today that is healthy for me? “Five is fine, nine is divine” referring to the fruits and vegetables serving today. While surfing the net yesterday I came across two articles from the BBC about how the Mediterranean diet can reverse cell aging. I am eating an apple right now. Having a couple coffee, eating an apple I know helps against heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The fact that it taste good is a bonus. I already had a good day sleep and I will get my walks in. I will do some suspension training for strength training and stretching for flexibility. Knowing that I'm doing these things helps me feel good that today I do good things for my health.

“Life happens,” I think we usually think of bad things that might happen long way (“sh*t happens”), but it is possible then we can also take note of the good things that happen or even the simple things that give gentle responses that make up a good day. Jesus referred to “life happens” as “each day is trouble of its own”. Trials come, difficulties jump at us. Sometimes this is our job, let me explain. When I work and school my job usually kicked in when problems happen. No, I could think, “Man my life is going so smooth. I was coasting along everything was easy and now bam, I got to work.” But over the years I began to see that this is why I was there. I would use task analysis and other strategies to anticipate problems and maybe solve them before they happen, but the happening wasn't my fault. Nearly every day I would talk with my co-workers about the things that happened and how best to deal with it next time. Now is an opportunity to work through it, to  help the student or students to a good outcome. That attitude eliminated a lot of frustration for sure.

I recently read an article that said that now is the best time to begin a walk program into exercise today. We actually may get the most benefit from exercise and lifestyle changes that we do right now. We cannot change the past but we can do something about today. If you were somewhere between 50 and 70 you can begin a walk program where your probably walking aerobically within 12 weeks. If you are over 70 you're walking can really benefit you, even if they are short walks. You know the health challenges that you face and your doctor knows, but making smart lifestyle changes and beginning to include walking, strength training, flexibility can help you deal with painful joints, improve your immune system, help getting the blood flowing through head to toe and if you have to start off small, so be it. Recovering from injuries that are serious illness may take a physical therapist. There has been several times when physical therapy helped decrease my pain and increase my movement. It works. In my life plenty of restarts, life happens, but restarts are far better then giving up.

In the area mental health there is again the idea “life happens”. For me it has been an opportunity to work on the whole gamut of things. Right off the bat I can tell you that I feel better and mentally, I feel like I've healed. My medications have been reduced along the way I've gained a lot of confidence. In mood swings I experience, I now look at each opportunity the same way. I have an opportunity to work towards a good outcome. I am really not as frustrated with it now that I expect it. I don't draw on the past and let the abuse rule me, I let that go. Now I give myself time and effort to work through the moods, choosing to do the good things for me and the ones in my life. I want to own up to my mental an emotional life. It is on me and not others (Particularly Barb) to take care of. 

Making plans is good but taking time to catch “Life happens” makes the day better. Keep walking